In an interview with Euractiv, Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska condemns EU’s move not to give Macedonia a June date to open EU accession talks, and acknowledges that the NATO membership is also not a done deal.

Last year, the list of expectations from the EU side was rather long and maybe many believed that we won’t be able to deliver in such a short period of time, having in mind the difficult political agenda, as all domestic reforms had to go in parallel with negotiations with Greece, a referendum and constitutional changes. But we have managed to be successful and this is why even the most critical assessors of progress had to agree that we have done our share. Unfortunately, there is now a delay in the EU’s delivery. I don’t believe three months can change events. But postponing decisions, when the situation is relatively clear, is not the best policy. We will continue to perform, but we do believe that also the credibility of the offer, of the process, and the credibility of the EU as a regional and global actor, is at stake, Sekerinska told the Brussels based news site.

Even as a majority of NATO states ratified Macedonia’s accession, under the imposed name “North Macedonia”, Sekerinska said that the process is not finished yet. Turkey is a notable NATO member state which has raised political demands, asking Macedonia to extradite over a dozen of suspected Gulenist group members, and delays in the arrests lead to many of them fleeing the country.

There are no guarantees in politics, especially when too many parliaments are concerned. But we have signed the accession treaty at the beginning of February and in the first five months after the signing of the Accession Treaty, we have seen 17 ratifications. Albania and Montenegro, the latest newcomers, had seven and eight ratifications in the same time period. There is a political will and I would say even a political urge, not only by us but by many who have watched what was happening in North Macedonia and they have been surprised, by the progress. All these are signals, but it ain’t over until it’s over, Sekerinska acknowledged.